Alabama's official unemployment rate for December was 7.1 percent, the lowest it has been since the end of 2008.

Alabama's unemployment rate had fallen to 7.2 percent in April, but then increased over the next four months, peaking at 8.5 percent in August. As of last month, however, that short-term spike has been erased -- and then some, according to the Department of Labor's preliminary estimate.

The number of employed persons in Alabama increased by nearly 8,000 from November to December. And the labor force shrank by about 1,600, reducing the number of unemployed persons in the state from roughly 162,000 to 152,638, per the DOL's estimate.

While the official number of unemployed persons went down, the state actually lost jobs from November to December. Total nonfarm payroll employment for December is estimated at 1,882,500, down 7,000 jobs from the revised November estimate of 1,889,500, prior to seasonal adjustment. However, December is typically a net-negative month for jobs.

In months past, government job losses had been to blame for the state's muted employment growth, but that was not the case in December. The public sector added roughly 200 positions across the state over the month.

Most of the state's service-providing industries -- information, financial activities, professional and business services, education and health, leisure and hospitality -- saw losses, including a nearly 1 percent drop in leisure and hospitality employment.

The DOL's estimates for December jobs are preliminary, and will be revised with the next unemployment update. Additionally, the next jobs update -- scheduled for March -- will include a revision for all 2012 estimates.